Pages

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

In support and defense of tiny Christmas cards

Why do Christmas cards and greeting cards in general have to be so big? It might seem contradictory for an ephemera lover and a traditional book lover to be a conservationist, but I am. We need to use our trees and paper more responsibly.

I like smaller Christmas cards. And it seems as if the challenges of having less space leads to more creativity and beauty on the cards. Decisions have to be made about using the space in the best way possible. When you have a fold-out card the size of Godzilla, there's no room for subtlety.

The best of all, of course, would be smaller Christmas cards printed on recycled paper. Or recycling old Christmas cards to create new offerings.

Tonight's vintage card is not much larger than a business card. It's just a smidge over four inches by two inches. It features a wonderfully cozy living room scene. This tiny card has so much attention to detail that there's another winter scene taking place outside the window.

Search Papergreat

About the Author

I'm Chris Otto, a Pennsylvania resident and journalist whose hobbies and interests include old books, ephemera, history, folklore, alpacas, photography and much more. Never stop reading, learning and asking questions! I consider this blog to be a spiritual descendant of Microsoft Encarta and a companion to Wikipedia. Every piece of paper tells a story.
Reach me at chrisottopa (at) gmail.com.

As (kind of) featured in The New York Times...

Papergreat was mentioned in Stephanie Clifford's August 7, 2011, article in The New York Times titled "Shopper Receipts Join Paperless Age." Find out why, years ago, I held onto a receipt for a hot dog!

Also check out

More Papergreat

More Papergreat

2010-2016. Content property of Christopher Otto and may not be reprinted without permission. Watermark theme. Powered by Blogger.